From Perth to Melbourne, the mainstream media has been reporting on the latest police crackdowns on booze-fuelled violence. Police are determined to stop the 24-hour free for all that has created mayhem on the streets. Most notably we have the Perth Police Karl O’Callaghan determined to reel in the mayhem in the Perth nightlife hub of Northbridge. According to a story on PerthNow, his plan is to curb trading hours across the board in the hopes of minimising harm and ill health. Read the full story and check out the news footage here.

Head over to a report in Melbourne’s Herald Sun and we read that the “Police have launched their strongest action yet to try to clean up city nightclubs, by seeking to shut a venue they claim has a history of violence.” The police claim there have been 20 violent alleged incidents since 2006 (including stabbings, brawls and glassings) at the Amber Lounge on Lonsdale Street. Check out the full story here.

In view of this ongoing ‘war of words’ over Melbourne nightlife, the Melbourne City Council is holding a summit for licensees in Melbourne on 15 April 2009. Peter Iwaniuk of the Nightclub Owners Forum has put together a checklist of items to aid discussion at the Summit that are considered “important for the continued development of Melbourne as a vibrant 24 hour City.” For more details about the Summit, contact Peter at piwaniuk@bigpond.com